Neutron Star Collison
by Aiko no Sabaku
Summary: After Yukiei Kagami leaves behind her beloved home to start anew in Karakura, she meets a mysterious shop owner who believes something runs deeper in poor confused Yukiei. UraharaxOC possible GrimmjowxOC Title formerly Never Gonna be Alone
1. Chapter 1

Never Gonna Be Alone

Authoress: I, sadly, do not own Bleach or any if its characters.

Chap 1: Time is Going By

Yukiei Kagami had never been perfect. With her blonde hair and pale blue eyes, she never fit in anywhere in the little big island that was Japan. She remembered her first months in Tokyo, only 16 when her parents got corporation jobs that paid well, for translating English to Japanese. She had been put in a near by school in a smaller region of Japan near their apartment, while her parents lived their lives on the trains.

She had always been teased by the more catty girls, that were indeed beautiful, but not ones to admire for their sparkling personality. They made of her hair and took her glasses, hiding them in the teacher's desk where Yukiei couldn't get them. But she did have one refuge. Though she wasn't stick skinny, blame her mother, and though she wore glasses, having lost her contacts during the move, and surpassing her quiet inquisitive nature, blame her father. Yukiei still managed to snag a flirting buddy.

He seemed to notice her when the teacher had her introduce herself on the first day. Later on in the month, after she made and astounding two friends who were into the same things she was, he started talking to her. His name was Koiji Takaii and he was cute, the same age as she, and her complete opposite. While Yukiei's hair was always kept, Koiji's seemed to be never brushed and gelled slightly, and because Yukiei was shy, Koiji was engaging and intriguing. Plus since he was 16, he still had a boyish look about him, but wise beyond his years.

Her friends, Ai and Kaori, applauded her in gaining his attention, "Yea he dated before, but usually he's just friends with everyone." Kaori said one day at lunch. Ai nodded her head and replied, "And he's obviously flirting with you, why don't you go out with him to Aoyama or Shinjuku?" Yukiei shrugged, "I don't know his style, I mean I think he's into the more grungy stuff. I don't wanna take him somewhere he won't have fun at!"

Kaori laughed and waved her hand in dismissal, "Well then have fun flirting until college, then you'll be off to a university and you'll probably never see him again!" Ai joined her in the laugh and Yukiei huffed, "You're just jealous you don't have my skill." Kaori looked at her and crossed her arms, "What skill, Yuki-chan?" Yukiei pointed to her glasses and wiggled her brows, "It's all in the glasses, K-chan. It makes me look smart."

Ai rolled her eyes, "You crazy Americans and your fantasies." This time all three of them laughed and Yukiei stood slowly, stretching, "I'm going to head over to class and study a little, there's a test today, you know." Her friends nodded bid farewell to her as the blonde took off out of the cafeteria. She was shy until you got to know her, but she could always crack a joke with her friends, even about her old country.

As Yukiei strolled down the hall, she heard the loud 'tap-tap-tap' of someone running up behind her. She was going to prepare her self to be jumped by the group of girls who bully her, but was pleasantly surprised by receiving a smashing hug from behind. She still jumped, though.

Koiji's voice blew into her ear and made her shiver, "Konn-ichi-wa, Yuki-chan!" Yukiei chuckled and softly jabbed her elbow onto his stomach, in which he pretended to be hurt by. "Konnichiwa, Takaii-kun." She heard him huff and a few strands of her hair moved to his breath. "I wish you wouldn't call me that….we've know each other for a while, you don't have to be so formal anymore. I thought you knew that?" Yukiei nodded and placed her hands lightly on his arms. "Yea well, if I called you 'Koiji-kun' all the time it would seem like we were going out…"

Koiji's arms tightened slightly around her middle and when he spoke, his voice seemed a little melancholy. "Aren't we…? I thought after two months of flirting together we kinda just moved one step further, like it was silently agreed upon." Yukiei's heart started thumping louder and her grip tightened around Koiji's now almost vice-grip arms. "Ano…I didn't know you wanted us to be…together." Koiji nodded against her neck, "I would like that very much, Yuki-chan."

Yukiei nodded and smiled, "Even though I'm not the skinniest and I wear glasses?" He nodded again, "You're perfect…" Then it was so, the two were inseparable from that moment on. They went to festivals together and formed a study of just them that switched off going to Yukiei's house and Koiji's.

For the most part, the two were a normal couple. But for a while Yukiei had been getting faint, but very annoying headaches. They came and went, sometimes they lasted 10 minutes, other times, they would go on for 30 minutes or more. She never told Koiji, not wanting him to worry; instead she would pop some pain killers and go on with her day, though they never seemed to work.

This went on for the next two years, and through that time, she almost lost her self to Koiji. Her excuse was that she wanted to wait until she was married, "Well then marry me, Yuki-chan! For Christ sake we're going to be out of high school next year, I want to be with you, I love you!" Yukiei sighed, they had had this conversation many times before, and being 18, almost 19, the conversation of moving in with him was an issue as well. But the blonde had always come up with why she couldn't, either it was her parents needed her still or she didn't feel ready to get married fresh out of high school.

"Koi-kun, please let's not right now, I have finals to study for and you should be studying as well. You don't want an American beating you for the top of the class…..eh?! Koi-kun?!" Koiji had launched across the little table set up in his room and pinned her down whist straddling her hips. "Koiji…get off." The boy shook his head, "One or the other Yuki-chan, I love you and I want you to be with me. It's been two years now and I don't want to lose you to some guy who you think is better in college."

Yukiei gave him a look, "Why would you think I would do that to you, Koi-kun? I care for you as much as you do, more even. But why don't you just go to the same University as me? We would see each other everyday, but I need as much time as I can get if I'm gonna be a psychologist." Koiji looked defeated and slumped there for a moment before saying sadly, "Then can you give me one thing, just one thing is all I ask."

The blonde cocked her head to the side and asked,"What is it, Koi-kun?" Koiji bent down and planted a kiss on her lips, "You" he mumbled against her lips and kissed her collar bone. "Koi-kun, you know what I say about this, please stop." But the boy continued on, running his hands under her shirt and bra.

Yukiei wiggled under him and pushed on his shoulders, but he had built more muscle over the year and now held her to him in an unbreakable hold. He undid his pants and worked on her as well. "Koiji! I swear to god- knock it off you jerk!" Koiji stopped fore a moment, his eyes completely glazed over with lust, "Yuki-chan, I want you. I know you feel the same…please." Yukiei almost gave in as he sucked on her neck softly, but she snapped out of it as he continued on her pants and underwear.

She pushed on his shoulders once more. She notice some give as his strength was geared toward her lower regions. Yukiei found a way to wiggle and kick out of his grip and stood up, adjusting her underwear and pants. "What the hell Koiji?! Are you insane, you should know by now what I say about that!" the boy sat there for a moment looking dumbstruck and sat cross-legged. "I'm sorry Yuki-chan, I don't know what came over me." He looked at her with puppy eyes that were filling with tears. Yukiei had to fight back going over to him and hugging the hell out of him.

"Sorry?!" she shook her head and suddenly felt tears of her own form, "I gotta go now. My parents are having a celebration for the end of the year." She turned and started walking away, only stopping once and glancing back at him at his doorway. "Call me, Koi-kun..." Yukiei the walked down stairs, hugging Koiji's mother she received sweet bean dumplings. "Thank you, I'll see you hopefully soon." The woman nodded and bowed as Yukiei hurried out the door and practically ran home.

The last time she would do so in 4 years.

(Urahara's shop, Karakura)

Urahara sat quietly in the summer evening observing the garden he had recently started. He sipped on his glass of chilled tea as footsteps sounded behind him. A rather deep voice rang out as the footsteps stopped beside him, "Your garden is doing rather well these days Urahara-dono." The blonde glanced up at a very large Tessai and nodded, "Yes, one would think so; all it needs now is a rather beautiful woman standing right…there."

He pointed to a pond with lilies floating on it. "With a little lantern in a white furisode, fireflies all around her figure, right after a festival." His mind wandered to what this said female would look like and Tessai speaking broke his dreaming, "Are you hinting at something, dono?" Urahara tapped his fan once on his knee and chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I sound too poetic? Aha, sorry Tessai-san." Tessai shook his head, "Indeed I won't argue with you dono, it would be complimenting." Then silence settled along with the continuing humidity.


	2. Chapter 2

Author: SO I don't own Bleach or anything yea yea, we know. I hope you enjoy this! This is a revised chapter that I went back and worked on because my writing was just absurd back in highschool...good lord.

* * *

(4 years later)

Yukiei stepped out of her car into a blistering winter wind and gave her new apartment building a once over. It seemed okay enough, not at all like her parents said it would look like. "_A broken down mess…remember where we used to live when you go there sweetie."_ Her mother had said when the blonde announced she was moving to Karakura.

"_The town is on the small side but its school and others around it have good schooling for Psychology majors. Besides…rent is fairly payable there."_That was her explanation to her parents. But in reality, she wanted move a relative distance away from her now ex-boyfriend; who she had rather un-honorably caught sucking face with someone she didn't even know. It was decided that they were no longer going out, even though Koiji had called her insistently asking her to forgive him.

So Yukiei had decided one morning that she was going to finally move and 'get out of her parents hair' as she put it repeatedly. So as carried her bags up the stairs and unlocked her new door, Yukiei made a promise to forget her old home, save for her beloved parents.

The apartment room wasn't all bad. The kitchen was the first thing you walked into, after the small entryway, traditionally. Then after the kitchen, and to the right was a hall that led to the single room and the bathroom along the way. The closet/pantry was hidden by the bathroom. To the left (left if you were facing, right if you coming out) of the single room, was a less than a foot of hallway leading to the living room, which had a doorway leading back to the kitchen.

It wasn't big but she didn't need big, all Yukiei needed was enough to get by. She entered her room and gave a look of approval as she threw down her suitcases and smaller bags. She threw open the light eliminating curtains and sighed as the skies were still dank and covered in a blanket of grey. She glanced across the below neighborhood and spotted something odd. A little off to the side building that resembled, and probably was, a shop. Smallish and old fashioned, like time had stopped around the building and it was actually very fit for the town, which seemed small and dainty in itself.

"Weird..." She leaned against the windowsill and placed her hand on the frozen glass. Yukiei watched as an outline of her hand formed on the glass. She pulled it away and sighed, now she had to get a job in a town she's never been in, find the closest, or better educating, school, and scratch a living out for herself here.

The day wore on and as Yukiei unpacked, her thoughts drifted back to Koiji. His smile, sense of humor…his pushiness. She stopped taking apart her suitcases and sat back on her butt as she criss crossed her legs, and thought. Yukiei assured herself this probably was the best thing. She looked around her room and flopped backward on the carpeted floor. "I need a job…this place is going to look like a hobo took up residence…" She chuckled at herself and swung into a standing position, she stood there for a moment, riding out a head rush. Yukiei shook her head as she walked out of her room and into the kitchen, at least there was a table, it was pushed up against the western wall and made of a light, refreshing looking wood. Two chairs seemed to have been left behind as they were a darker shade of wood.

Yukiei shook her head to snap out of her fascination of the table and chairs as she grabbed her keys/purse combo and walked out to her car. The town was still so new to her so a smooth, hopefully safe, 'getting to know the town' drive sounded ideal. As she drove down the hardly occupied roads, Yukiei realized she had driven passed the little old fashioned shop, and that it had a vague 'OPEN' sign on it. Her full interest geared toward the shop caused her to, almost frantically, find a way to turn then pull up beside it.

She buried her face in her cotton scarf and walked in through the sliding door. But nobody seemed to be there, Yukiei searched around the shop in any case. It seemed to only hold candy products, a lot she had never seen or heard off, some were like gum that came in a powder form, or just straws that were sweet and sour in the same mix with everything else. She got caught up in her searching that she didn't notice a tall green and white figure saunter in and stand there watching her for a minute before saying, "Why who do we have here? Must be a customer, ne?"

Yukiei startled and stood up straight, looking toward the man who had scared the be-jesus out of her. "Oh um, I w-was just looking, the sign said you were open and I'm new to this town, so I thought I would get to know my neighborhood…" She stopped herself, if she didn't, she would end up telling this man more than she wanted to say. She noticed though, that the man was as old fashioned as the shop. Besides his very green attire, the odd man had a dappling of fuzz on his chin; on his feet were a pair of geta. Then to top it off, his head sported a green and white striped bucket hat, and he held an odd looking cane in his right hand.

The man's eyes were shadowed slightly by his hat but he lifted his head so his eyes showed to her. Storm gray; with a hint of betrayal, who was this man? "If you're not open I can leave." Yukiei turned to go but the man once again spoke, this time, whipping out a fan from somewhere unknown and fanning himself, "No, no, please have a look around we haven't been busy much." He kneeled down and watched her intently as she poked around the small shop. "So you said you're new to the town? Do you live nearby?"

Yukiei nodded glanced at him, "Yeah, I just moved here from another town because of schooling. I live in an apartment just 3 blocks away from here. I saw this shop from my window and thought I'd check it out." The man brightened and a wide grin spread across his face. "Aha! I'm glad you were interested in this run down shop! Not many people are, you know." Yukiei looked around and thought sarcastically, 'I wonder why ever not…' The odd man kept his question asking up and asked, "What are you going to school for? You must be in your 20's if you're in college, yes?"

Yukiei nodded and replied, "yeah, I'm turning 23 next month, and I'm going to school to major in Psychology. I finished my core classes in high school." Again she wondered why she was prattling on about personal things. Maybe it was her body predicting a good future. The man nodded and scratched his scraggly chin. "How old are you…is that okay if I ask? " Yukiei asked him in return and he smiled at her kindly, "Certainly, I will be turning 29 next month. Hah! We were born in the same month; I guess that's a lucky sign, eh?" The blonde chuckled and nodded, "Um, yea, I suppose."

The rather eccentric man kept up his smile but suddenly looked surprised, "Oh, I never got your name, pretty miss." Yukiei blushed and replied quickly, "Um, Yukiei Kagami. Your name would be?" The blonde man waved his fan and said to her in perfect turn, "Kisuke Urahara owner of this here shop, my dear." Yukiei was stunned slightly; this laid-back, unkempt man…owned a shop?! You learn something new every day.

But the, now appointed, Kisuke did have a certain air about him. It was friendly, yet mysterious and gave him an edge that made him quite handsome in a way. Yukiei quickly noticed where her thoughts were roaming and banished them, she came to this town to learn, not to supposedly fall for someone. Besides, the way she felt so at ease around him, and way she wouldn't stop flapping her lips about her age and schooling was unnerving. She had been in contact with the man for no less than 15 minutes and she had already given him enough info to stalk her with. Though she highly doubted that a man like this would do anything of the sort, he didn't come across as so. Still, one can never be too careful, right?

Just as he was Urahara about to open his mouth, Tessai came strolling in through the back. Being the rather tall and intimidating man that he was, Tessai gave Yukiei a surprise, judging by the look on her face. Kisuke turned slightly and said up to his friend, "Tessai-san, this is Kagami-san, she just moved here and saw our shop from her window, then graciously decided to come in and look around, isn't that kind of her?" Tessai nodded and bowed slightly, Yukiei returned the favor saying, "you can just call me Yukiei, I've never like formalities. It's a pleasure to meet you Tessai-san."

Though her face still read intimidation, Yukiei had the courage to speak up again, facing Kisuke, "I think I have to go now, I still need to look around town and maybe find a job." The blonde man nodded to her and got a brilliant idea, "Why not work here? It's close by, ne? And I promise I won't follow you around _too_ much. How 'bout it, Yukiei-chan?" Yukiei felt her face heat up, but did think about the offer. Then again, how much would this job pay? She had to eat, you know…and get some semi-decent furniture, _and_ pay for school, oh don't forget about clothes and the essentials. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid I will have to politely decline your offer, Urahara-san. I need money for school, clothes, furniture and whatnot." Not to mention it would be slightly, okay a lot, uncomfortable, as it seemed the man was inadvertently sweet talking her, even though they just met.

Kisuke looked a little down-trodden and continued on, "I could provide furniture, and the hours wouldn't be so bad." But even with his offer, or rather bribe, of furniture and workable hours, the blonde Yukiei still declined, "I humbly appreciate your offer, but I still have to say thank you, but no." Then that was that, he guessed. She wasn't very swayable once she had made up her mind.

As Yukiei bowed and turned to leave, Kisuke called after her, "you should still stop by, though Yukiei-chan!" Tessai chuckled as the woman disappeared, "you seemed to be trying very hard to get her to work here, Urahara-dono, do you think that's wise? She's not the same person anymore." Urahara waved him off, "I'm just pleased she's found her way back to us, even if she doesn't realize it yet." Tessai shook his head, "If you scare her away because she doesn't remember you, it's your own fault, you know"

He walked back into the house leaving Urahara alone with his thoughts and the frigid air, over 100 years and his heart still beat frantically when he saw her, most curious indeed, he thought as he too walked into the warm house and turned out the OPEN sign.

* * *

R&R, yes? or not...it's your life. But it would be much appreciated! 3


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3:

Authoress: woah, I so do NOT own Bleach or anything. Except Yukiei…yey!

Also, big thank you to YummyFoods for the positive reviews, I hope I write goodl! ^-^ so thank you! Oh and Also to Neverwinternightsgirl777. This chapter is super special for you guys! ^o^

* * *

In the days passing, Yukiei Kagami forgot about the little shop and got a job as a waitress at a maid café and was happy about it, it paid well and the atmosphere was comfortable. One of her classmates was even working at the café, Inoue Orihime was her name and the two knew each other from university classes and now, of course, work. The job was simple and had simple hours; she could go to school, then dawn her maid outfit and go to work. It was easy to forget about the odd man and his tall companion with all this going on.

But as fate would have it, the store had to pop into her mind one day during work when she thought she heard Kisuke's name. She looked around for a moment, but saw no flash of that undeniable white and green. A tap came on her shoulder and Yukiei turned to see Orihime's smiling face, "What's wrong? You look like you're looking for someone, a particular customer?" The blonde shook her head and smiled in reassurance, "No, I thought I heard a familiar name, but I must be getting tired…" Orihime nodded, and patted her arm, "you should take off early today then, get some rest, I hear we have an exam coming up this Thursday." Yukiei looked relieved as she nodded and turned to change then leave.

She sighed as she grabbed her purse and took off down the street. She had decided to walk when she was in town, and drive everywhere else. But her walk was interrupted when Yukiei wandered passed the Uruhara shop. "Whoa, déjà vu…" She smiled at herself, it seemed like she was subconsciously attracted to the place. "Well, might as well go in, it should be open." Yukiei cautiously opened the door, it didn't resist, and there were lights on inside. She smiled and walked the rest of the way in; but no one was occupying the building, just like last time. "Um…alright…I'll just leave then." Why stay if no one was there to hold a conversation with.

Besides it was cold in the little shop, she briefly wondered if the house adjacent to it was warmer. She also remembered how to pay had gone down in her job and thus her heater had to be sacrificed. So the poor (literally) blonde had been wearing practically a ski parka to bed every night, and with the coldest part of winter fast approaching, she had figure something out. But her thinking had caused her to stand in the doorway for too long and she blushed as she opened to door. But a rather sing-song voice stopped her for going through it. "Ahh Yukiei-chan! I see you've taken up my offer of coming to visit again."

Yukiei turned and closed the door quickly. None other than Kisuke was standing there, fanning him self even in this god forsaken weather. She bowed slightly, "I seem to keep interrupting you from something. I'm sorry." Kisuke waved a hand at her in dismissal, and then motioned for her to come closer. But Yukiei looked behind her at the door, like it was almost some kind of way to freedom. _Oh come on Yuki, he's not that bad…_ she thought to herself scoldingly. Kisuke must have seen her slight trepidation, because he chuckled and reassured her, "Don't worry pretty miss, it isn't just Tessai-san and I here, so you won't be alone with two scary guys." He winked and motioned to her again.

This time, Yukiei followed him as he walked to the back room and further still. As soon as she entered the house beyond the shop, warmth enveloped her. A shiver ran through her at the sudden change of temperature and walked fast to catch up to Kisuke as he turned a corner and entered what looked to be a sitting room. Complete with a blanket covered table and a board game that looked to be just ending. There were also two children sitting at the table.

One was a boy with blood red hair and mischievous eyes and a suspicious eye, but the other was a stark contrast. The other child had black hair up in cute pigtails and dark, doe like eyes that held a certain 'kind trepidation'. Yukiei wondered for a moment, were they Kisuke's kids? Surely, they were not. The blonde could not see the eccentric man being able to take care of kids, even if he cared after a shop.

So the thought was dismissed as a voice broke through her subconscious. "Yukiei-chan, let me introduce you to the other members of this 'family'." Kisuke got her attention and pointed to the little cute girl first, "This one's Ururu," he paused and pointed to the punk boy, "and that one is Jinta." This time all attention was drawn to poor Yukiei, "and this pretty miss is Yukiei Kagami!" She bowed to the newcomers and said, "Please, just call me Yukiei." She tried her best to smile confidently, but it just came out awkward, she could feel it on her face.

Kisuke threw up his hands in a festive manner and pulled Yukiei down to sit next to him at the table as he draped the blanket over his and her laps. Causing the poor thing to blush slightly at his gentleman-ness. "I think another game is in order, don't you believe so? Yukiei-chan needs to relax when she's here!" Yukiei found her self making quite an annoyed face at the man, for the statement was said to the whole group, but she knew it was meant as 'you need to relax here Yukiei-chan'. Why, she was just fine like this. In an unknown house, with one big scary guy, two awful cute kids, and a mysteriously handsome man with an apparent gentleman streak.

In any case, Tessai nodded and went to setting up the game once more, and the punk boy, Jinta, launched into interrogation. "So how long have you been in the neighborhood? Do you go to school nearby? And how old are you exactly? Where are you from?" Kisuke stopped him quickly, "Now now, we can't over load her…it's much better to ask over a few days." Ururu piped up shyly, "But Urahara-san…wouldn't that just be annoying?" The scraggly man nodded and smiled like a Cheshire cat, "Exactly my young one!"

Yukiei wondered for a brief moment if something was truly wrong with the man, but decided no, probably not. Anyone housing two adorable children and a harmless candy shop would be pretty stable. Jinta's little voice rang out again loudly, "hey lady are you gonna answer my questions or not?!" Yukiei snapped her gaze to the child and open her mouth, "Oh um…I've been here for about 2 weeks, I go to the university nearby, 22 soon 23…and I'm from the Kanto region." The red headed boy seemed not to care at all, even though his inquiries had just been answered. Kisuke on the other hand, seemed to be looking at her through the corner of his shadowed eyes.

Tessai had finished setting up the game and handed Yukiei the two little white dice. She looked down to the board and choked on her laughter, "C-candy Land?!" (A/N: which I don't own either…) Yukiei blushed slightly as all attention swung to her. "Are you familiar with it?" Kisuke asked and somehow it came out as sounding like a mockery. The blonde nodded and replied, "Um, yes. I used to play this all the time when I was little."

Not very intriguing but the little girl, Ururu, seemed to very much enjoy this new information. Yukiei made her move and marched her little plastic figurine foreword 3 spaces. Ururu took a breath and asked, "S-so, what o-other things did you d-do wh-when you were li-little?"

Yukiei found it rather odd that Ururu was the only talking one currently. But in any case the blonde thought a moment before replying, "Well, we used to go to the beach a lot. I love the beach because of that. Um, I was pretty boring as a little kid, but I did seem to be prone to getting hurt."

She then proceeded to show the little girl, and consequently the others, a huge scar that ran down her leg from her knee to mid-shin. Yukiei explained to them that said scar was obtained from falling out of a tree and down a hill when camping one year. "I think I was 5" she said. The young woman seemed to feel she was giving to much information again. She hardly knew these people, just like before with Kisuke. But he was a whole other matter entirely, being all flirtatious and what not.

She figured it was all for naught, these people were as harmless as clams and that she had nothing to worry about if maybe she gave out some personal information. The game wore on and to Yukiei's mild surprise, when she looked out the window; the sky was an inky black, dotted with diamonds and a big pearl that hung proudly in the blackness.

The game ended with Tessai winning, Kisuke stuck in some molasses, and the two children at the candy canes. Coincidentally, Yukiei ended up stuck in molasses along with Kisuke. "Well this was fun wasn't it?" The green clad man rather blatantly said as he watched Tessai pack up the game and it contents into the box.

Yukiei nodded and stretched her arms daintily and cleared her throat. "Well this has been really fun, but I should get home. I have school tomorrow." Jinta and Ururu looked at her like she had spoken a foreign language.

Kisuke turned from talking to Tessai and exuberantly pointed his closed fan at her, "There will be no such thing! You could get KILLED!" This seemed to be pushing it on Yukiei's account, but you could never really tell when Kisuke was being serious.

Yukiei chuckled and covered her mouth for a moment before shaking her head, "Really, I think I'll be fine, I only live right down the street. I promise." She then proceeded to turn and head back out into the cold. But a large hand held her firm by her shoulder and Tessai's deep voice rang out, "You should stay here…it's too cold and dark now." Yukiei looked back with widened eyes and tried to find any kind of excuse so she could leave.

"U-Um…well I don't want to impose…" Kisuke interrupted her, "No! No imposition my dear! We have a spare room with your name on it." He leaned over and nudged her arm with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows. There was something about this man that made the young woman feeling there was a double meaning to everything he said.

Yukiei didn't want to cause trouble, but she also knew how cold it was outside, and plus, she didn't who could be lurking out there, even this weather. "W-Well...if you insist I'll be no trouble. But I would have to leave early to get ready and stuff." This didn't seem to sway the eccentric blonde man in green. In fact, it seemed to make him happier.

So it was settled, the young blonde would be staying at the Urahara residence for the night, all because of a stupid game of Candy Land.

* * *

Yosh! So it is done! Who else remembers playing board games like Candy Land?! I love that game! Oh and the story about her being prone to danger is taken from my own experience... I really did hurt myself all the time. Except I didn't fall from a tree, I split my chin while climbing around on the toys during the 2nd grade. Never got stitches or anything... ANYways continue if you like!


	4. Chapter 4

Authoress: I don't own Bleach...v.v But here's another revised chapter! :D

Chapter 4:

* * *

Yukiei woke up with the sun in her eyes and in a stranger bed. Her heart sped up pace and she looked around before remembering that the blonde haired Kisuke had persuaded her to stay the night. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, it was too early for this. The pitter-patter of little feet sounded out in the hall and Yukiei roused herself from bed and opened the door cautiously to make sure no more traffic would race by.

She spotted Tessai walked intimidatingly down the hall which seemed too small for his wide shoulders. "G-good morning Tessai-san." She thought that the best of getting over her somewhat fear of this man was to befriend him. He stopped and nodded his head to her once, "Are you hungry?" He asked in a deep voice and Yukiei put a hand to her stomach as it growled. "I do have to get home though…." The large man raised an eyebrow and started walking again, he called over his shoulder, "But it's free food, Yukiei-dono."

The blonde realized he was right, and who was she to turn down a free, home cooked meal? Yukiei followed Tessai down the hallway and into the small eating room where they were in last night. Jinta and Ururu were already gobbling up breakfast, which consisted of the traditional rice, grilled fillet salmon, pickled cucumbers, a few sour plumbs, and miso soup. It was quite a spread and it did indeed look delicious.

"Yukiei-san! Come and eat, Urahara-san made this special because you are our guest!" Yukiei figured that these children would like it a lot if she was a guest every day. She sat at the low table and was presented with a bowl of rice from over her shoulder. She looked back and up at a smiling Kisuke. She was taken slightly aback, seeing as his appearance seemed very innocent. He had his hat off, and a 'morning' mood about him that appeared less perverted.

He sat on the other side of her with his own bowl of rice. "Well good morning Yukiei-chan! I pray you slept well?" his voice was groggy sounding, like he'd been up since very early. As she wondered if he had because of all the cooking, she suddenly felt very guilty. It was silent for a moment before Yukiei realized that Kisuke's question had gone unanswered. "Oh, um, yes. It was very nice. Thank you". The young man nodded at her as proceeded to eat his meal.

Yukiei too, ate her breakfast, which was very good…something else she'd have to thank the young blonde for later. She couldn't help but wonder about the shop owner though, he always seemed cheery and flirtatious. But every time they made eye contact, she could see deep sorrow and betrayal. It was something she'd learned how to read in her classes for psychology and it was coming in handy finally.

She wasn't about to go confronting him about it now, though…she hardly knew the man. While Yukiei was caught up in her musing's, a conversation had erupted. "So, Yukiei-chan, you said you had a birthday coming up." Yukiei snapped her gaze to the elder blonde man. "um….yes, in a month, give or take." She thought it over and realized that it was indeed already December, the second, the more she thought about it. "Actually in two weeks…it's on the 16th."

Kisuke's face brightened and a cheery beam occupied his face, "Well that's just in time for the winter festival I think!" He chortled and seemed to bare a smile the rest of the morning. Yukiei wondered what this man was up to, but that was the fun about it.

But the blonde did enjoy this 'family' of sorts sharing their home with her even though she was a stranger to them. Yukiei glanced down at her watch in the middle of her thoughts and her eyes almost bugged out of her head. "Oh! I need to go to work! Crap…." Yukiei ran a hand through her hair and got up abruptly from the table.

She ran back to her one night room and grabbed her uniform that was sticking haphazardly out of a plastic bag she had meant to bring home last night. But seeing as that never occurred, her very minimal Lolita work uniform lay strewn on the floor. She glanced at her watch again and then back to her outfit, there was not enough time for her to even consider changing here.

So, it was decided that she would change at her work, where she usually did so anyways. Yukiei gathered up her things and hurriedly went back out to the front room to slip on her shoes. All the while, she felt eyes following her every move. No doubt it was Kisuke, who was most likely coming out of his sleep endused non-perverseness, and now was ravishing the view of her back-side as she put on her shoes. _Honestly, this is awkward….let's just get to work Yuki…._She thought as she turned to say her goodbyes.

"Well, I thank you for everything, I really do…and breakfast was excellent Urahara-san." She bowed formally and turned to exit. Before Yukiei could get to the door, a little cold hand wrapped around her own, she looked down, and saw Ururu. The shy little girl was looking up at her with those big, dark, doe eyes. "Y-You will come back, right?" Yukiei was almost ready to cry, or swoop the little girl up in her arms, as Ururu seemed to have that effect on her motherly instincts. "Yes, I will, if I get time I might even bring something special."

Hers and Jinta's faces both lit up at the mention of gifts. Yukiei smiled and absently placed and soft hand on the little girl's head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kisuke looking at her, smiling almost knowingly, and with a hand on his chin.

As Yukiei turned and walked out the door, though, her head started hurting, like some form of extreme pressure was constricting around her cranium. She rubbed little circles around her temples and kept walking, rather slowly, in the direction of her work place. But it just wouldn't go away…something about just got worse and worse.

Her face must've showed her great displeasure when she walked out of 'locker rooms' and behind the counter, because Orihime stopped her walking in front of her. "Are you okay, Yukiei-chan? You don't look so great." Yukiei waved a hand in dismissal and tried her best to smile as she swiftly got to work tending to the customers. The pressure wasn't going away anytime soon so she dealt with it.

_It isn't so bad once you not focus on it, like a headache!_ Yukiei thought and smiled to herself as she went about her business. It wasn't about two minutes later that the little bell clinked against the door, signaling someone had entered. Orihime and herself looked up from the counter where they were arranging orders, and Yukiei felt the breath sweep right out of her lungs. "What a familiar face! Yuki-chan, you have no idea how hard I've searched for you!"

Orihime looked to the blonde and whispered, "Do you know this guy?" Yukiei nodded and slid around the counter and up to the boy who just walked in. "Koiji, you need to leave…you're making a scene." Her voice was low and she maneuvered herself around him so she could open the door. "Psh, no way, can't I stay with you for a while? I mean we never really broke up right?" He wiggled his eyebrows and tried catching her wrist, but Yukiei pulled it back to her side quickly.

"Leave me alone! Jesus, I thought it was clear when I never came back…." Koiji shrugged, "guess I never got the memo, anyways I was just passing through to go to my new university in Osaka and I heard from your parents that you were here somewhere." Yukiei nodded before speaking again, "well that all good and fine, now you should leave, Osaka is quite a long trip and you don't want to be tired on your first day of university."

She was about to go and shove him out of the door when the pressure in her head spiked and her vision was pure white. Then there was the sensation of falling, and everything was black.

When Yukiei awoke, gone was her work outfit, and she was no longer confronted by Koiji. Instead, she laid somewhere very familiar. "What…?" she sighed as she sat up and too much of her great relief, the pressure in her head was no more as well. Yukiei flopped back down onto the futon and stared up at the ceiling. _How did I get here anyways? Did Orihime carry me here? Or maybe Tessai-san came and got me…and how do I ALWAYS end up here, anyways?!_

These questions would have to be answered later because through the quietness on the small house, Yukiei could hear soft talking. She knew she would most likely get accosted for this by someone later, but she had to know what was going on, even if it was just idle chatter. So she kicked off the heavy covers and after managing to semi-silently open the door, she started quietly down the narrow hallway.

Her footsteps stopped at a corner close to where breakfast had been held that morning (A/N: keep in mind it's most likely five o' clock because her work started at 11 and she was working for 2 hours and unconscious for the remainder until just now) . "What are you hiding from us, Urahara?" An unfamiliar, young male voice sounded. It seemed whoever just spoke was about Yukiei's age, maybe younger. Then she distinctly heard Kisuke reply, "I'm hiding nothing, she's just some cute girl that has been coming in recently to the shop and thankfully Orihime-san had enough sense to bring her here."

Yukiei made a face at this; they were defiantly talking about her, then. She was surprised when Orihime's voice piped up. "I thought this would be the safest place to bring her, since I did sense some spiritual pressure and knew you would know how to handle her."

Kisuke was heard again as he made a thinking noise, "Well this is predicament…." The unidentified boy spoke up rather vehemently, "Dammit Urahara stop playing around! What do you know about this girl, it's obvious you do…." Kisuke shushed the boy and for a moment, Yukiei thought she was caught, but he went on speaking. "…for now I think we should count our blessings that she didn't get hurt form that boy, don't you think?"

Yukiei almost forgot about Koiji, and wondered how they got him to leave. _Oh jeeze, what kinda of excuse did Urahara-san give?!_She couldn't imagine. But her thoughts were cut short as the 'meeting' seemed to conclude and the moving of people was heard. Yukiei felt a surge of adrenaline and rushed back to her 'room'. She closed the sliding door and threw herself under the covers (at the same time getting a nasty floor burn on her elbow) and closed her eyes.

It was quick thinking because Kisuke opened to door and she could feel him look her over for good measure and sigh, "I always knew you would find a way back, you little rule breaker…" Yukiei could've jumped at this but held it in as he closed the door and walked away.

_What was that? What the hell is going on?!_ She couldn't get to sleep as what she heard echoed through her brain into the darkness on the cold winter night.

* * *

The plot thickens! I hope things are piecing together relatively.

I've enjoyed you reading this! 3


	5. Chapter 5

Authoress: yet another disclaimer that I don't own Bleach...

There should be a flashback somewhere around here in one of these chapters that will clear up the mystery of Yukiei and Urahara. But in the mean time...enjoy!

Chapter 5:

* * *

Today was a special day. In Yukiei's perspective, it was her 23rd birthday. Urahara had mentioned earlier in the week that something was to be planned. 'It'll be fun my dear, I promise!' Yukiei sat up and, groaning, ran a hand through her hair. "This is gonna be fun…" There was a knock at her 'room' door and Yukiei hoisted herself up to answer. She opened the door to reveal a very enthusiastic looking group of people. "It's a special day Yukiei-chan!"

Urahara was already dressed and two smiling children beamed up at her from in front of an ever stoic Tessai. Yukiei sighed and nodded ad she yawned. Urahara shooed the two children away and ushered her out into the main room. They sat across from each other as Tessai appeared with a couple cups of tea.

"So, 23, eh? If I remember, 23 was one of the best times of my life." He smiled and his eyes looked distant. Yukiei wondered for a minute what he was recalling, a lover maybe?

The pitter-patter of children running was heard suddenly through the house as Jinta and Ururu skidded to a halt in front of the table. Both were garbed in traditional festive yukata. "W-what's all this?" the two children looked over to Kisuke as he opened his mouth to speak, "well, we decided to show you our winter festival for your birthday. If that's alright with your busy schedule?"

Something about the way he said schedule made Yukiei chuckle. But then his words sank in and an excited, "yes, of course!" popped out of her mouth before her brain could react. When her mind caught up to her, Yukiei then said, "the problem is that I don't have anything like that." She motioned to the two kids.

Urahara was silent for a moment as he thought, then got up suddenly without reason and disappeared down the direct hallway. He was gone for quite a while and Yukiei wondered briefly with a childish smile if the house had swallowed him up.

After waiting an extra couple minutes, Yukiei walked toward where Urahara had disappeared to. She bumped into him as he was walking back down the hall, "Oh! What timing you have!" he then proceeded to direct her back to the table and they assumed their once seated arrangements. Urahara slid the box over to Yukiei.

"It's a little early, but I couldn't wait until tonight. Happy Birthday." Yukiei was beyond surprised, 'he's getting stuff for my birthday already? This guy's persistent.' She smiled at him to hide her thoughts and opened the box none the less. "Think of it as a 'welcome to the neighborhood' kinda thing" the shop owner piped up humorously. Yukiei carefully pulled away the paper covering. "Oh my god!"

Yukiei carefully took hold of the cloth and pulled it out as it became a gorgeous festive yukata. She looked starry-eyed at the deep purple yukata. It was adorned with delicate silver snowflakes that started out at the bottom hem, and tapered out up the waistline. Yukiei also spotted the obi, shining slightly with silver.

She looked over to Urahara with saucer sized eyes as her mouth hung open slightly. "You're….you're giving this, to me?" He nodded, "It is yours, Yukiei-chan." She was slightly baffled by the certainty in his voice, but was flattered nonetheless, and her heart beat in her ears. "So…what time does this festival start? She ran her fingers over the silky snowflakes and waited for Urahara's response.

"Well it's been going all day, but it doesn't get good until tonight," he explained with a grin. Yukiei nodded and proceeded to put back the yukata. "I hate to cut this short, but I should really go to work…can I leave this here for now?" The older blonde nodded as Yukiei closed the lid and got up. She put on her shoes and coat on the door and turned as she said, "I'll be back at around 6, is that okay?" Urahara smiled at her and said 'yes' before telling her to get going off to work.

As Yukiei walked away from the shop/house she got to thinking again. It was aggravating… it's like she should know him, but there's a wall the she can't break though. Like when you have something on the tip of your tongue but it's just not coming to you. Everything about that house seemed strangely familiar to her but the thoughts were so far away that she couldn't grasp at them. She mused about this the rest of the day until she clocked out.

Yukiei found herself rushing to get to Urahara's house. As soon as she walked in though, two things came to her immediate attention. One of two, a red haired boy was standing next to Orihime idly holding her hand. Two of two, Urahara looked way too excited. He walked over to her, smiling all the way, and opened his mouth to speak. "I put your clothes in your temporary room. Orihime and Ururu will help you get ready, right?"

He looked over his shoulder and both girls' smiled and nodded vigorously. Orihime then proceeded to steer Yukiei back to her 'room' and Ururu closed the door with a snap.

A few minutes and lots of impatience from Ichigo later, he was complaining about how 'girls take way too damn long to get ready', the three emerged. The two boys, who were left out in the main room, peered down the hall. An audible gasp was heard from Urahara and Ichigo smirked over at him.

With her hair up, Yukiei looked very fit for her yukata. A hair stick stuck out of a messy bun that had little glittering snowflakes dangling down from delicate chrome colored chains. "You look marvelous, Yukiei-chan." Yukiei blushed vibrantly and she overall wanted to hide under a rock. But it was flattering that that the other blonde she looked nice.

Orihime went back over to Ichigo who held his hand open as she grasped it. "Well shall we get going?" Urahara said as everyone made a move for the door. Ichigo and Orihime explained that they would meet up with the group later and walked off, hand in hand. As soon as they got to the festival, Jinta and Ururu took off running. Yukiei must've looked visibly frantic, because Urahara laughed and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay; we have a meeting spot, the do this every year." Oh, like that made it better. So the two of them walked slowly. Yukiei looking around with wide eyes and a smile, and Urahara glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He showed her everything there was to see at the little festival. Though, Yukiei was more interested in the intricate ice and snow sculptures that were placed in random spots.

She and Urahara made a game out of finding all the sculptures. Yukiei eventually won when she pointed out the biggest main sculpture. "Alright, alright, I concede. You have won my dear!" The younger blonde laughed and thanked Urahara. He then carried on and got her some dango as her 'winnings'.

Then, the rest of the night was spent talking and generally getting to know each other. Usually, Yukiei would never be so open with someone like this. But she felt very calm and talking came easy when she was around Urahara. It was strange, but she kept having the nagging feeling at the back of her mind. Like she knew something more about this man, but there was a wall in her head.

The night wore on this, in a comfortable slowness. But about halfway through the night, a tingling headache erupted in Yukiei's head. She cringed slightly when it got worse, enough for Urahara to notice. "Yukiei-chan…are you alright?"

She felt his warm hand through her clothes and leaned into it slightly. "I'm fine, just an annoying headache." Urahara looked at her with concern but kept walking. Yukiei then felt an arm around her waist suddenly and looked over to Kisuke. "You looked like you were going to fall. Do you want to go home?" The blonde felt warmth in her stomach, a sort of fluttering, like butterflies.

"Th-thank you, Urahara-san, but I'm fine, these things usually go away after a while." Urahara looked at her and smiled, then went back to walking. All the while his arm around her waist, 'to make sure she wouldn't topple over' he had said. Yukiei smiled and finally felt her headache dissipate, however she didn't tell Urahara of this. She just let him go on thinking he'd fooled her in managing to hold onto her.

The night wound down with some fireworks and wish making. There was a sense of community that Yukiei had never felt before in the big city. Everybody was kind and the mood jovial. When everything was said and done, Urahara offered to walk the young blonde back to her house and she had readily accepted, not wanting to let go the warm, peaceful feeling that had developed between the two over the course of the evening.

So there she was, walking back to her apartment with the echoing 'clack-clack' of Urahara's sandals'. Their breath intermixing as it floated softly into the air. He walked her up the stairs and to her door. They stood there for a moment, figuring out what to say. Of course, it was Urahara who broke the silence. "Well! What a fun night, eh? I hope you enjoyed yourself, Yukiei-chan."

Yukiei nodded and replied, "Yes, it was amazing, thank you very much Urahara-san." The older blonde looked pleased. His smile reached his eyes and for once, Yukiei didn't see the hidden pain in his eyes. "Well, maybe I'll visit tomorrow after school and work?" Urahara opened his mouth to speak, "Please, do."

Yukiei smiled softly and turned to open her door. But she heard no retreat from Urahara, "Yukiei-chan?" She turned and was met with a quick, soft kiss on the cheek. The young woman had hardly any time to react before Urahara was half way down her stairs. 'That little sneak…I bet he planned it all out…!' Yukiei thought as she walked into her barely suitable apartment.

A smile gracing her features as she went.

* * *

How would you feel if a handsome, mysterious blonde gave YOU a peck on the cheek? Pretty great, ne? I really hope you enjoyed this because I enjoy YOU! 3

R&R if you like!


	6. Chapter 6

Authoress: I don't own Bleach guise.

AHA! Here's that flashback I was predicting! I hope y'all don't mind because it explains the history of our two main characters and sets up the rest of the story, which there will be more of, I promise you that. I know some people don't like these things but...Too bad so sad it's my story! :D Enjoy it anyways!

Chapter 6:

* * *

~…FLASHback…~

The crowd grew as quiet as death when the head captain walked out onto the stage. He stood in front of the graduating trainees, "Today is a special day! It is a day for new talent to be discovered. For new, potential captains to be molded!" A few claps sounded and a certain ragged blonde captain swept his eyes over the trembling crowd of graduates.

One in particular seemed to be caught up in her thoughts and anxieties as she fussed with her sleeves and bit her lip. She looked up toward the end and her eyes grew as her and a couple other shaking individuals were the only ones remaining. All the rest had been dispersed to their new 'homes'.

"Kagami Yukiei!" the Yukiei girl jumped and stood up in attendance. The head captain nodded, probably pleased with the fear he stuck into new soul reaper's hearts'. As he walked over to her, Yukiei fixed her sword and stood in attention, "Squad 12, you will be in Kisuke Urahara's squad." He commanded as the blond bowed and descended off the stage.

The scraggly captain motioned for her to walk over to him. "Welcome, my dear to the best squad ever!" Yukiei looked at him oddly and noted to take a rather wide step around him to stand amongst her new squad members. Urahara couldn't help but laugh at her actions.

As things got settled and the new recruits found their way around the barracks, Yukiei noted how her new captain had made it a daily process of training with the young soul reapers as a way of getting to know them better.

She had no desire to do so, however after watching a particularly heated fist match between her new captain and lieutenant in which the blonde captain had taken a hit straight to his face and then collapsed on the ground. This was only after he had moved out of the path of the attack, then back in to receive the brunt of the small lieutenant's rage.

Yukiei had no desire to be humiliated or mocked in such a way and had thus far successfully avoided her captain. On one particular day, however, she had been held up by one of her squad members who wanted to talk about something trivial and wasn't able to escape the gaze of Urahara.

"Yukiei! I've been looking for you!" He came up and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling like he didn't know what he was doing. Her captain spoke again, "I believe I haven't trained with you yet." Yukiei nodded and smiled as if she was as excited as he was to be finally training together. Urahara looked down to check if she had her sword and, smiling, motioned for her to follow him.

Yukiei seemed to notice, just in time, as Urahara turned on his heel and faced her with a grin. The younger blonde gasped and took a few steps back before placing a tentative hand on her sword

"So, in order to learn about your fighting style, I'll allow you to take the initiative." He saw her eyes widen and grasp her sword until her knuckles turned white. "Taichou…I know what you do when you train with the others." Urahara looked surprised, "You…watch me train?"

He seemed to word the statement to flatter himself. None the less, Yukiei blushed and shook her head. "No! But I saw what you did with the fuka-taichou and I'd rather not be humiliated like that."

Urahara's expression changed to something un-readable and he shifted his weight. "Well, how observant of you, you saw the stunt I pulled then?" Yukiei was quiet for a moment, in thought, then nodded, "Yes, I have to admit, you're very fast, taichou. I've never seen anything like that before."

Urahara raised his eyebrows and smiled, "thank you very much. I'm impressed you were able to keep up, that's rare among new gradguates."The younger blonde ducked her head, "It's nothing really, just something I've always been able to do." Urahara got a serious look on his face, "It's not just nothing! It shows a great deal of potential. I think if you hone that ability you will be quite fast in your fighting style, it's very useful." Yukiei was quiet, not know how to take in this information. Her captain continued on, "if it's alright with you, I would like to work with you on this, show you what I know on quick step fighting. It'll be very beneficial."

Yukiei looked skeptical and crossed her arms. "I promise I will not humiliate you, my dear." The younger blonde blushed and nodded, trying to hide her face and Urahara pretended not to see "I guess it wouldn't hurt? After all, that's what I'm here for, right?" The two blondes were so busy with what they were doing they didn't notice a third individual walk up. "Hey! Yukiei, Ura…hara?"

Yukiei smiled widely as she turned around, "Shinji!" and his 'faithful' fuka-taichou, Aizen. The guy seemed to give everyone the creeps. "What are you doin'? Besides bein' all professional now that you're final in a squad. Congrats, by the way." The blonde girl smiled and ran a hand through her hair.

"We were training. Urahara-taichou was gonna teach me his moves." The way Yukiei said this made Shinji look upon the situation in amusement. He draped an arm over her shoulders loosely, "Well how fun for you. Don't die or anythin'". Urahara cleared his throat and the two joking friends turned to look at him. "Sorry, taichou! I haven't seen Shinji since… when was it?" She looked up at the tall captain as he rolled his eyes and flicked her head, "like almost a month, I feel neglected Yuki…" he feigned offence and pretended to cry dramatically, much to the displeasure of Aizen. Yukiei comforted him and apologized profusely.

"Yeah whatever, you don't mean it…" Hirako shoved Yukiei gently toward where she was standing before and started to walk away. Yukiei called after him in a singsong voice, "I forgot. Hiyori-fuka-taichou wants to talk to you!" She watched in amusement as the captain stumbled and glared back at her, then kept walking while flipping her off. Yukiei laughed and returned her full attention back to her own captain.

"Sorry, he's my best-friend and I haven't seen him lately so…" Urahara shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Friends are what keep us sane, the more you have the more stable you are, you know?" Yukiei looked at him oddly, "well, where are your friends, taichou?" The blonde winked at her, "Why, I only have one good one! Shows you how sane I am, right?"

He laughed but stopped to say something more, "Oh, I believe I've just insulted my-self…That's no good!" He chuckled and scratched the back of his head with a grin. (Yukiei definitely had to agree with him in his theory. Her captain was crazy!)

By the end of the training session, Urahara was beginning to see Yukiei in a new light. He watched her as she stooped over with her hands on her knees. A smile crossed his features as he stretched absent-mindedly.

Kisuke put his sword away as the sun descended into the horizon, "Well my dear, I think we should call it a day. Don't want you pushing yourself too far!" Yukiei nodded her head; Urahara had been making sure everything he taught her was perfect. If he was going to train her, he was going to make sure she got it down pat. Yukiei wiped away the sweat that had accumulated at her hair line and also sheathed her sword.

The lights were now lit all around the various part of the Soul Society. From the houses to the barracks. Urahara watched his pupil fidget as she said, "Um, taichou, am I excused?" The scraggly blonde cocked his head slightly and questioned, "Do you have somewhere important to be at this hour?"

Yukiei looked over her shoulder and nodded. Urahara waved her off and chuckled, "well, I don't want to keep you here, you can go." The young woman before him bowed and smiled then hurried off.

Urahara couldn't quite explain the sinking feeling in his chest as he watched her walk away.

In the days passing, Urahara tried to give Yukiei her space. He was her captain after all; he didn't want to impose on any of her free time. Besides their training sessions, he tried not to interfere too much in her life.

Shinji on the other hand had noticed this and it was starting to tick him off that his fellow captain was being so lackadaisy about not upping the ante on the flirtation spectrum. "Hey, why don't you talk to her? She doesn't bite…even if she's seeing someone, which she isn't." There was a feeling of relief that washed over Urahara as he asked, "How can you be sure?

Hirako sighed and shifted his weight, "Have you seen her? She can hardly talk to a guy, if anythin', I would say she actually likes you, which is surprising." Urahara felt a smile try to creep onto his face, but he pushed it back.

The sounding of sandals on the wood walk-way came around the corner and a certain blonde woman stopped, startled by the sight of the two captains. "Oh, Taichou and…Shinji? I hope I'm not intruding." Shinji shook his head and smiled his usual smile and waved to the two of them as he sauntered off.

The silence set in and in sync, Urahara had to break it, "Well, how are you today, Yukiei?" Yukiei nodded and fidgeted, "I'm good…" the blonde captain nodded and shifted his weight. He wasn't used to being tongue tied.

"I…have I upset you?" Urahara shook his head and waved his hands to reassure her, "No! Of course I'm not upset! I was just trying to give you room to go about your life here in the squad. I thought because you left so quickly the other night, you had plans with…someone else?"

Yukiei choked and sputtered out, "No! I-I wasn't going to meet someone, taichou. It's, ah…it's this thing I do at night." Urahara looked up at her with surprised eyes. "Clarify?"

Yukiei was still blushing as it was her turn to avoid his gaze. "Well…it's kinda a secret." The blonde captain cocked his head to the side and smiled reassuringly. "I won't tell, my lips are sealed, my dear." The young woman before him shrugged, "Well, I like to go up to Sougyoku Hill and look all the lights. It's something I do to relax, it helps me think."

Urahara understood fully now, and it made sense as to why she left as soon as it got dark. He nodded and smiled, a feeling of relief grew in him. "Oh, well, I'm sorry for falsely assuming." The awkward air that had previously hung over them had dissipated and it left Urahara feeling rather silly for falsely assuming something that he had no business thinking about in the first place.

Yukiei kicked at the dirt absently and fiddled with her sleeve, her captain should not make her feel this way at all. She was supposed to be professional, but here she was making a fool of herself and talking about frivolous things. But it was one of those things she would hear the older women in town swoon about, seeing someone and just knowing how right they were, that you had found the other end to your 'red string'. She never thought she would fall victim to something as foolish and make believe as 'fate' or 'soul mates', and denied it to herself as she stood talking to the blonde captain. "Well I…I need to head into town to get oil for my blade and run errands."

The older blonde seemed understanding of this and shooed her away with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. His touch burned through her clothing even as she exited the barracks and shopped around. She was looking at particularly high grade oil she'd had her eye on for some time now when a deadly silk voice politely spoke up next to her, "I find when it comes to sword care that this always works better."

Yukiei looked over to her right to see the brown haired Aizen holding up an amber bottle of rather expensive oil. She bowed and offered him a 'good afternoon' before replying, "If I had funds to buy that one, I would, Aizen-sama. Unfortunately, I'm rather broke at the moment." He smiled and Yukiei squirmed under his gaze. She felt like a mouse that had been cornered by a mighty serpent. "Well we can't all be so lucky, I suppose. Perhaps you're…doting captain will purchase it for you?" The blonde's eye's widened and she shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about Aizen-sama, but there is nothing doting about him. He is my captain, nothing more."

She realized that he was much closer to her than previously thought and smelled the double meaning on him, "I'd like to hear you tell him that." He the stepped back from her to a sociable distance and put his innocent mask back on, "You look a bit startled, I didn't say anything, did I? All Yukiei could do was shake her head slowly before turning on her heel and promptly making her way back to squad 12, forgetting all about her supplies and focusing mainly on getting as far away from the brown haired shinigami as she could. Hoping that she knew what exactly she was getting herself into with her eccentric blonde captain.

* * *

This is actually revised a LOT from where I had it end before...trust me, you really didn't want to see that one...definitely this one is better. yeesh...

As always! 3


	7. Chapter 7

Authoress: still don't own Bleach...which is sad because how do I get my whites whiter?!

Hopefully this'll be over with next chapter and we'll be caught up...it's hard to condense 100 something years into two or three chapters...OTZ

Chapter 7 everybody:

* * *

In the passing weeks, Urahara began to get to know his blonde squad member better, they would often talk when there was time off and he admired her resilience when they would train. He began to fall into a most comfortable rhythm: get up, have a slight briefing with Hiyori, go train with Yukiei, then if she wasn't too tired, go out for some dango. He had discovered it was her favorite some time ago during a rather light hearted conversation one warm afternoon.

They would walk around the streets with their sweet treats talking, sometimes about nothing at all. Their walks together made for some interesting conversations. Some were about the deliciousness of shrimp tempura, a favorite they both shared; others were about the obvious feelings between Shinji and Hiyori. They would usually go their separate ways as the day shifted into evening, but one day, Urahara was surprised; Yukiei threw him for a loop. "Would you like to come with me to the hill tonight, Taichou?"

He studied her for a minute and noticed the blush that erupted on her face and the nervous fiddling with her sleeve, which was taking its toile on a little string that had come loose. Urahara tilted his head slightly, "is that okay with you? You don't seem too sure." The blonde quickly shook her head, "No I'm sure, it isn't just anybody who I invite with me, usually it's my alone time but I'm willing to share." She threw him a playful smile. Urahara nodded, "Well then I would to go very much, I'm honored that you would share something like this with me, Yukiei."

Yukiei's face broke into a pleased smile. "Okay, meet me where we usually train at when it gets dark." She turned to go to her room when Urahara spoke up, "thank you for asking me, Yukiei." She turned and smiled then kept walking before disappearing behind a corner. It was only after she was gone that Urahara realized his heart was pounding.

As the day descended into black night, Urahara found himself rushing to get to the spot Yukiei told him to meet her at. He had every intention of being early, but got caught up with trying to make his hair look alright and lay flat. In the end, he ended up running to get there at a reasonable time. Yukiei was there, waiting calmly with a smile, though. As if she had expected it. "Sorry I'm late, my hair is untamable." He gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

Yukiei cocked her head a little and raised an eyebrow, "It's not that bad…I think it's cute." She had gotten quieter with the last part of her sentence and Urahara had to strain to hear her. "Is that so?" his poor companion ducked her head as he spotted a blush take over her face.

The young captain couldn't help but laugh softly at her actions and try to catch a glimpse of her rosy face. "It's okay, I won't tell on you." He jabbed her arm softly with his elbow. Yukiei looked over at him and shook her head slowly, "I wouldn't seriously get in trouble for that, would I?" Urahara nodded quickly, "it would be deemed 'sexual harassment' or something or trying to get 'promoted by means of bribery' and blah, blah, blah."

Yukiei gave a quiet, "oh", and looked at the ground as they rounded a corner. "But, I have no intention of letting anyone know you're into me, Yukiei. So you should be safe." He laughed as the younger blonde jumped and yelled at him, her face fully aflame. "Honestly! I just said your hair looked okay! Don't get all egotistical!" Urahara raised his eyebrows and canted his head, "well…that's now. I've taken to keeping a list of the little things."

Yukiei eyed him, "little things such as…?" Urahara shrugged, "they're not all too important. That's why they are little things." The younger blonde yelled out in frustration, "You have to tell me! They're about me!" Urahara pretended not to hear, but a smile still formed when Yukiei smacked his arm. "I'll get it out of you eventually." She trailed off as they stopped at the top of the hill.

The blonde captain looked, speechless, out across the valley. Various colors dotted the blackness; from red to gold and blue. Yukiei had already sat on the edge, her feet dangling over. Urahara went over and sat next to her on the ledge, their legs touching. "I see now why you come up here…it is beautiful." Yukiei nodded and sighed in content, "Yes, especially after a long day of being trained to hell and back by your taichou." Urahara looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "hey you asked for it, and you've been getting better, so no complaining."

Yukiei sighed and looked back out over the valley. "Still…" she muttered quietly, not attempting to argue with him, knowing he would always win. Time passed a comfortable pace, and the silence wasn't heavy or impending. As time wore on, the two Shinigami leaned closer to each other until their shoulders were touching and the younger blonde's head was almost leaning on her captain's shoulder. Yukiei let out a stifled yawn and stretched, trying to her hardest to stay awake. Usually she would have more energy to stay up here and go over the day's events and what she still needed to do; but tonight she could hardly keep her head up.

Urahara looked over at her, "Tired?" The younger blonde sat up and crossed her arms, letting her stubbornness show, "no…why do you say that?" the blonde captain chuckled, "maybe because you can't stop yawning? Or that you were almost using me for a pillow? Not that I would complain much, to be honest." He smiled deviously as Yukiei blushed deeply and huffed, "you're impossible…" Urahara continued to smile, "I think you meant to say impossibly good looking?"

Yukiei refused to look at him which just made him break out into laughter, "I'm sorry but you make it too easy, my dear!" the blonde turned to him with a pout, "then I'll make it more difficult for you in the future." Urahara raised his eyebrows, "Playing hard to get, eh?" Yukiei's mouth dropped open as her blush deepened, "what!? I- that's not what I-!" Kisuke laughed and nodded, "I'm sure…just keep telling yourself that." The young woman slumped her shoulders and sighed in defeat. There really was no way in winning against this man.

She settled down next to her captain once more and before she could realize it, she was yawning again. Urahara chuckled and stood up, offering her a hand, "I think we should get back before it gets too late, or else neither of us will be any good tomorrow." Yukiei had to admit he was right, and took his hand. He pulled her up with so little difficulty that the blonde before him stumbled over her sandals and had to do everything in her power not to run face first into his chest. She did, however have to place a hand on his stomach to stop this from happening and ended up in his personal space anyways. She felt his arm steady her around her waist and she cringed when she knocked her knee into his.

"Well this is a compromising situation, isn't it?" he was grinning like a mad man and Yukiei had the feeling that he had done this on purpose. She took a good two steps back from him and bowed her head, "sorry…I-" Urahara interrupted her , "no need to apologize, no harm done, right? I guess I don't know my own strength!" he motioned to her as they started to descend back down the hill and in the barracks.

They stopped at her door and stood there a couple minutes in awkward silence. As always, Urahara was the first to break it, "Again I have to say thank you for showing me something so personal for you. I'm honored" He bowed formally like they do in the royal court and took her hand; Yukiei couldn't help but laugh at his foolishness. "I'm glad then that I didn't waste your time." Urahara stood back up and looked at her suddenly with a seriousness she couldn't place, "How could you ever possibly waste my time?"

Yukiei blushed, which was getting on her nerves slightly as this was starting to be commonplace around the blonde captain, and stumbled over her words until Urahara stopped her rambling by leaning forward and brushed his lips against her cheek. He stood very close to her now, "Get to sleep, alright?" Yukiei nodded dumbly and did nothing but stand there and watch him walk away with a goofy grin on his face.

She went to bed that night with a warm feeling in her stomach and the smell of him still surrounding her. She memorized the sent; soap and ginger.

.

..

…

"Get up you lazy bum! There is a meeting and you are missing it!" Yukiei would seriously prefer doing anything else besides trying to wake her captain at the moment. Hiyori was there with her, too, which didn't increase the pleasantness of the situation by any means. The small lieutenant stepped in front of Yukiei and yelled some obscenities at her captain before exploding in rage and kicking the door down.

Urahara emerged with a confused look, "What in the world?" Hiyori was shaking with rage, "we're going to be LATE! Why can't you EVER be on TIME?!" The blonde captain scratched the back on his head, "Sorry…I was working on some research. You know how caught up I get in my work." The young vice-captain raised her fist like she was going to hit him, but then turned on her heel and began marching away, "well HURRY UP!" Yukiei could hear the stream of curses coming from Hiyori even as she turned the corner.

"I love doing that." Urahara spoke up from beside her with a childish grin. The younger blonde gave him a look, "You know you're seriously gonna get hurt by her one day. I don't know why you do that to yourself." The blonde captain waved his hand in dismissal, "I've dealt with her for 5 and half years now, I know how to handle it. Besides, she's not as bad as she was." Yukiei shook her head. Four and half years later and she still couldn't figure this man out.

She followed along beside him as he began to slowly make his way to the meeting. "So…up for some dango after this? It should only be about two hours, or I hope it is." They stopped outside the big doors leading into the meeting hall and Yukiei nodded to him. "Don't keep me waiting, okay? I haven't had anything to eat today except some fish and rice."

Urahara smiled down at her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I wouldn't want to miss one moment with you." Yukiei blushed furiously and shoved her captain into the meeting before storming off with her head down. She rounded the corner and bumped into something soft. She looked up only to come face to face with Aizen. He looked mildly surprised and took a step back. Yukiei bowed, this wasn't helping her blush, "I'm sorry sir, I wasn't looking where I was going and I should've been more careful."

Aizen smiled at her and shook his head, "It's no problem, I'm sure you have a lot on your mind." The blonde nodded, she most certainly did. The brown haired fuka-taichou before her kept his gaze trained on her and spoke up, "if I may be so bold, what were you doing heading from the meeting hall?" Yukiei looked up at him with slightly widened eyes, "I was just….just passing by. No reason, really." Aizen smiled at her, but it was a poisonous smile, there was no warmth behind it and Yukiei found herself chilled by it. "Very well, then…good day." As he swept past her, the younger woman felt him lean down and whisper menacingly in her ear, "You should learn to lie a little better than that…you won't fool anyone like this."

Then, like nothing ever happened, Aizen stood up swiftly and continued down the hall. Yukiei stood, frozen, her eyes wide. Lie? About what, Urahara? There was nothing to lie about; they were just friendly with each other. She harbored no feeling for her captain at all…none. Yes, she would just keep telling herself that.

…

She met up with Urahara in town after the meeting, the encounter with Aizen still on her mind. She had to try very hard to focus on what her captain was saying. "…I think we're really close to some kind of breakthrough, I can feel it, you know?" He turned to her and noticed her spaced out stare and waved a hand in front of her face, "hello? Anyone home?" Yukiei blinked and turned to him with an apologetic look. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind." Urahara tilted his head in question and raised an eyebrow, "Care to fill me in?"

Yukiei bit her lip as they kept walking, "Well I…just…I'm unsure about things and feelings that you would think I'd be sure about by now." The blonde captain gave her a look, "What kind of feelings?" Yukiei went silent, but looked at him a pleading sort of look, like she almost contemplated telling him what was on her mind. Urahara was taken aback slightly, she had never given him that look, and he would know because he watched her quite often.

"I think maybe you need to get more sleep!" he laughed, avoiding the serious situation as always. He wasn't going to lie that he cared for the girl, a lot. In a different way that he cared for anyone else. In all of the four years he had known her, they'd grown quite close, and Yoruichi always teased him about 'puppy eyes' and 'just getting her alone in a room, for Christ's sake'. But he never thought that she might possibly feel the same, seeing as Yukiei always reprimanded him for any sort of flirting.

But now he wasn't so sure. He took the silence between them to look over at her. Her cheeks were pink and her head down, watching the road. She walked closely to him, their arms almost touching. The more he thought about it, the more he could pick out other little things. When they sat together on Sougyoku hill she would lean towards him ever so slightly so that her head would slightly rest on his shoulder, and when they were talking, how she would look up at him through her eyelashes with a shy smile and fidget with her sleeve. The more he thought about it, the more he thought perhaps he had been mistaken in his presumed one- sidedness.

"Yukiei I…" he looked towards him with something resembling hope, "…cannot wait for tonight. I heard there's supposed to be shooting stars." Just like that the hope was gone, and the younger blonde returned to watching the road. Urahara felt a terrible guilt like feeling rip through him and he suddenly had to get away from Yukiei's disappointment. "So…I will be there tonight, same time as always, alright?" The young woman beside him nodded and bid him farewell as he waved and walked toward Squad 2. Yoruichi was the only one who could put his mind at ease about this situation…but never in his life had Urahara felt so bad about walking away from anything as he did when he was walking away from Yukiei.

* * *

I hope I didn't misspell Hiyori's name or anything...I swear every time I go to type it up, it comes out something different...like what?

I know how in the Anime/Manga this arc takes place over 9 years, and I always like to TRY and stay as close as possible to the original as I can when writing these sorts of things...but 9 years is a long time and 4-5 seems a more reasonable amount of time for secret lovey feelings to be repressed because I have first hand experience of doing so...I mean what? Did I just spoil it? DID THE AUTHOR JUST SPOIL HER OWN PLOT?! uh...spoiler alerts? can I still use those or do I just use straight to jail card? Hopefully I didn't spoil anything because this IS an UraharaxOC.

Forever yours 3


	8. Chapter 8

Authoress: I don't own Bleach... It's bad for your health.

The depth of how sorry I am for not updating in eternity cannot be measured. Just now that I thought about this story often, but had no idea how to end the flashback and move on, now that everything's sorted out in my head I know where to go with this for the most part. I just need to get back in the swing of writing in the present tense...ehehehe. Anyways, I hope I still have some of you and I really hope you enjoy this from the bottom of my heart. 3

* * *

Chapter 8:

As he sat with his golden eyed friend, Urahara tried to figure out how on earth he would go about asking for advice. This had never happened to him, after all. However it seemed Yoruichi was tired of waiting for him to say something, "so, what's this about Kisuske? You ask to talk to me then sit here in silence. This is unlike you." She paused then gasped in mock horror, "Don't tell me… you killed someone?!" her eyes were wide and Urahara shook his head, "no, no… unfortunately nothing illegal." He was silent yet again causing his fellow captain to sigh in frustration, "Well then what is it?" Urahara readied himself, "say that a captain had some very strong emotions for one of his squad members…what would you suggest he do?" Yoruichi got serious with him then, "You mean Yukiei and yourself?" the blonde cried out and waved his hands around, "no! Where are you getting this from?! I could be talking about someone else entirely!"

His friend gave him a look, "but you're not, why would you come all this way just to talk to me about someone else's problems? I know you better than that." And thus he had been caught, he cursed himself for being friends with someone so perceptive, although his hypothetical question hadn't exactly been the best ever. "Well yes, I suppose you're right." Yoruichi held her head high and triumphantly stated, "Of course I am!" Urahara shook his head smiling and continued on, "so… any suggestions?" the woman opposite him thought a moment before replying, "Well…I suppose as long as you keep quiet about it no one will really bother ratting you out. And as long as you don't promote her or anything she won't come under any fire for coercing you, you know? So basically go about your business like normal, but know when it's appropriate to have your own time alone with her."

The blonde captain nodded slowly, "So then…how exactly would I go about actually telling her?" Yoruichi barked out a laugh, "You haven't told her anything?" Urahara shook his head. "Well then you'll have to figure that one out on your own, I can't give you all the answers you know." Kisuke sighed and nodded as he got up and thanked his friend for the advice. "Tell me how it goes!" she yelled after him cheerily as he left back to squad 12 and certain discomfort and awkwardness.

. . .

The evening was particularly chilly all over the soul society which made the winter festival all the more inviting. Posters had been put up weeks before and it was always one of the highlights of the year. It was a time when stressed out shinigami could relax and let their hair down. Urahara had given his lab staff and squad members the day off and Hiyori complained how 'it was about time he let her relax.'

He felt a little bad that she had been helping out so much in the lab and never really got much down time. He had seen her throughout the day hanging around Shinji but other than that she was a ghost. Urahara also hadn't seen anything of Yukiei until one of the other female Soul Reapers had told him that she had been in town earlier in the day buying an obi and some books which meant she had most likely been relaxing in the peace and quiet of her room.

The blonde captain himself had been in town that day as well and wondered if they had unknowingly passed each other. He had coincidentally been looking for something for said Yukiei that he could give to her a birthday present, seeing as how she had brought up the subject a couple weeks back. She had bemoaned the fact that she was turning 21 and thus, 'one more step away from childhood.' Urahara had quickly reassured her that she was aging quite beautifully, to which he had earned a slap on the shoulder and a couple of rosy cheeks on Yukiei's part. He chuckled about it now as he walked to her room, gift tucked away safely in his sleeve.

There was no answer when he knocked on her door; he called out her name only to be met with silence. Her door was unlocked when he tried it, however, and when he opened it, he was surprised to see a peacefully sleeping Yukiei. The book she had been reading had dropped onto her chest and her hair had fallen gently out of its tie. It was positively the cutest thing he'd ever seen her do and she wasn't even doing anything. He also noticed how it seemed she had been in the process of putting on a pretty, festive yukata, but instead got caught up in a book. The white undergarment had been tied properly, but the outer shell hung open, a silver obi sprawled out beside her.

Urahara knelt down beside her and an overwhelming heart throbbing feeling overcame him and all he wanted to do was hold her and fall asleep. Instead he brushed a few strands of loose hair from her face and stroked her cheeks, "Yukiei…" he gently shook her shoulder, "Yukiei…it's time to wake up, don't wanna miss the festival." He shook her again and laughed softly when she pushed his hand away and stretched big as she opened her eyes slowly.

"What…? Taichou… what are you doing here…?" He smiled at her and sat back a little, "well making sure you're not dead, of course. Plus, I couldn't just keep myself away from you, my dear." The younger blonde blushed and covered her face with bother of her arms, which made Urahara laugh and tug at her sleeve. "C'mon, the festival is going on and it's getting darker by the minute. Don't wanna miss the fireworks." This got the blonde up quickly. She rubbed her eyes and brushed back her hair into a bun. She fingered her yukata and eyed the obi on the ground, "Uh, Taichou…I hate to ask this but could you maybe help me tie that?"

Urhara looked at her a second, the question actually sinking in before a blush sprung to his cheeks and he nodded quickly. "I have to admit, my obi tying skills are less than excellent." He concentrated very hard on getting it right. He had to stop himself from getting too jittery every time his fingers brushed against Yukiei's back, she was very warm. Once he was finished he took a step back to admire his handiwork, not bad. Apparently Yukiei wasn't dissatisfied with it either because she turned and smiled at him then offered a thank you which he took.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, Urahara took the same time to admire her. She was beautiful as ever in her festive wear. Her yukata was a deep purple with little ice blue and white snowflakes coming from the left shoulder and right bottom hemline then tapering out as they approached her waist both front and back. The glistening sliver obi matched perfectly and the deep right color of her yukata made Yukiei's hair and eyes stand out in gorgeous contrast. She was truly a force to be reckoned with, especially for him when he almost forgot the whole reason he had come here.

"You know what would top this off perfectly, besides you?" Yukiei turned and was about to yell at him for flirting when he produced a long rectangular silver box tied up with black velvety ribbon. "Happy birthday, Yukiei." Urahara watched her face go from excited, to embarrassed, to happy all within a few seconds, so he figured that getting her a gift wasn't such a bad thing.

She took it gingerly in her hands and opened it with care. She gasped when she saw what was inside and held it up to the light to see it better. A hair stick, with a delicate arrangement of glittering snowflakes dangling off on even more delicate chains. She ran her hand over it and looked up to Urahara, "Taichou I… Thank you so much. How much was this?" the older blonde looked taken aback, "You should know better than to ask how much a birth day present cost, I wouldn't tell you even if you begged."

He stepped toward her and took the hair ornament from her hands and gently slid it into place amongst her blonde hair. He was pleased it looked so good on her. As she smiled at herself in the mirror he spoke up from behind her, "If you really wished to pay me back, however, I wouldn't say no to you accompanying me to the festival." Yukiei looked at him the mirror, "you mean… like a date?"

Urahara smiled and shrugged coyly like he hadn't been planning out how to ask her for the past week. "Well, if you want to call it that then I won't argue with you." He stepped toward the door and offered his arm, "shall we go, then?" His blonde companion wrapped her hands around his forearm; sending chills down his spine that he knew weren't caused by the cold night air.

. . .

The winter festival truly was a sight. There were vendors of all kinds along the road in town and lights had been strung up as well as a rather large bonfire in the center of town. There was an assortment of ice sculptures that had been set up around the festival at odd spots. Beautiful, intricate things with a sort of blue/orange glow about them. Yukiei was visibly excited beside her captain as they walked about admiring the whole thing and appreciating some time off.

They were warming themselves by the fire when Shinji approached, "Yo, I see you two are enjoying yourselves." Both blondes blushed and Yukiei shifted uncomfortably. Urahara decided to quickly switch subjects, "So are you here with anyone tonight, Captain Hirako?" Shinji reminded him to call his by his first name and shook his head, "I've been lookin' around for my lieutenant, but can't find him anywhere. You wouldn't happen to have seen, would you?" The other Soul Reapers shook their heads and Shinji sighed, "Probably skulking around somewhere. He never has any fun, I swear."

He then waved to them both as he walked off to try and find some of his fellow captains to hang around. As the two blondes finished off some dango they had bought, Yukiei questioned her captain about fireworks, eyes eager. "Probably soon, I saw them setting up. Shall we find a place to watch?" The young blonde nodded enthusiastically and practically pulled her partner along with her. Urahara happily noted that they were holding hands and tightened his grip.

They found a spot among the soft grass behind a building and waited. Yukiei moved quite close to him for his warmth and he was more than happy to share it with her. He carefully slipped an arm around her to see what she would do. No chastising or yelling but he did note how she blushed deeply and lean into him ever so slightly. He turned his gaze to her, he supposed if he was going to say anything, it was now or never, "Yukiei…" She looked up at him with questioning wide eyes and he took a deep breath. Before he could say anything however, the loud boom of fireworks interrupted him.

Urahara silently cursed them as they drew Yukiei's gaze away from him. But he was now too adrenalized to just drop the subject. He reached over and gently grabbed her chin and turned her head towards him. Yukiei protested that she was missing the show until she saw the look in his eyes. One of those looks that demanded her attention; he was her captain, after all, she couldn't ignore these looks. "Forgive me but there's something that I need to tell you now. I don't know when I'll have the courage to do so any other time."

He definitely had her full attention now, if only he could find an eloquent way of putting his words together. But the more he looked at her, the more he felt his feeling bubbling up in his throat, "you're beautiful, my dear." Yukiei's mouth dropped open, she had to process the words to make sure she had heard them right. Urahara chuckled and closed her mouth, "Now now, don't get too ahead of yourself, I'm not done with you yet."

He watched as she bit her lip. Things were going well enough. "Yukiei have you ever heard the term 'soul mates'?" the blonde thought a moment then nodded, her hands were shaking so she clenched them at her side. "I honestly thought that it wasn't real at first; Soul mates, finding the person you were meant to be with, the whole lot. So when I saw you it threw me for a loop. I pushed it back because it was unprofessional of me, and you were young and naïve. To be honest, I felt like a pervert. But it's been four years and I cannot bear it any longer. I've seen you mature and grow into a strong and beautiful young woman worthy of any man. You've come into yourself and made a place in my heart and… and I'm sorry if this is all too sudden but… I love you, Yukiei. I just wanted you to know."

The young blonde stood there, shocked into silence, her mind racing. She tried to say something several times but found that nothing came out of her mouth. Love? She figured it wasn't nonsensical at all; she had had feelings for her captain since the beginning, like he had said. Her silly crush has escalated dramatically over the years into full-fledged heart filling love. But she never thought, or expected, that her feelings would ever be returned.

She was six years his junior after all, and thought he saw her as young and cute, not mature and beautiful. This was all quite a shock, a pleasant one, but a shock nonetheless. She glanced up at Urahara, his face was red and looked uncertain, she hadn't given him an answer after all, but she was more than happy to give him what he wanted.

"Well then…" Yukiei took both of his hands in hers and kissed his fingers, "your hands are cold." She looked him in the eyes and smiled as he nodded. They leaned their foreheads together and breathed each other in quietly. Yukiei whispered to him, "I love you too, Kisuke Urahara." She heard his breath hitch and then exhale before she leaned up and kissed his lips softly, a feeling of relief washing over her. Not even disappointed that they had missed all the fireworks

As Urahara walked her back to her room, Yukiei was on cloud nine. Never in her life had she been so happy. When they stopped outside her door, she found herself not wanting to the night to end. The reluctance to leave must've read on her face because Urahara laughed softly and upped her cheek, "Don't worry, now that the awkwardness is over with, we have all the time in the world to get used to being in love."

The younger blonde blushed at the thought but agreed wholeheartedly before Urahara bid her goodnight with a kiss that made her toes curl. Unbeknownst to them, the world had an entirely different plan for the two.

Yukiei was pulled, rather violently, from her dreams later that night by a group of darkly dressed Soul Reapers. Before she had time to protest, they had her hands bound and eyes covered then whisked her away from all that she knew.

When the blind was removed from her eyes she was in a dark room of some sort, a spot light shining on her from above. "H-hello? Where am I?" She was met with silence and was about to call out again when a deep booming voice rang out around her, "Do you know why you're here, Yukiei Kagami?" Yukiei peered a little past the light and saw a row of screens, presumably with people behind them. So she was in court, then?

"No, please what have I done? I assure you I've done nothing wrong!" Her pleas were met with anger, "Silence! You will answer only the questions asked of you and nothing more!" She flinched and decided it best to follow their instructions. "Where were you at midnight last night?" She thought a moment, "at the winter festival." Yukiei blushed, despite her predicament. "And is it true that you were the last person to see Captain Shinji Hirako?" Her eyes widened, "has something happened to him?!" There was a sharp bang a fist hitting a solid surface, "Answer the question!" Yukiei nodded, "yes!"

"And is it also true that you were with Captain Kisuke Urahara at the time?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you won't deny being at his side quite frequently?"

"What? I-"

"Do you deny it, Yukiei Kagami?"

"No, I do not!" She felt like crying, what on earth was going on? The voice rang out, as stern as ever, "Then you also will not deny being in a romantic relationship with him?"

"No I will not, if that's what this is about then I don't understand how it's punishable by court!" Again she was faced with anger, "Speak out of turn on more time and we will add to your sentence!" A protest almost slipped past her lips but she swallowed it.

"You have knowledge of Captain Urahara's experiments?"

"Yes, sir."

"And is it true you have helped him with these?"

"A-a little, yes."

"Do you know about the recent disapperings?"

"Yes."

"Then with all your knowledge about these goings on, it would come to no surprise that we found evidence of a hollowfication process in yours and Captain Urahara's quarters?"

Yukiei gasped, "What?! No! I know of no such thing, please-!"

She was cut off by another bang and thought she was going to be reprimanded but instead it was something completely different. "Judgment will now be passed! For the one count of conspiracy and two counts of directly aiding in hollowfication and mass murder, you, Yukiei Kagami are sentenced to immediate execution by means of soul removal!" Yukiei's heat stopped and she felt tears spring to her eyes. This was wrong, this was all wrong.

She wanted to cry out but was paralyzed with terror and panic. She could feel tears streaming down her face but no sound coming out. It wasn't until she felt hands around her arms and she was being dragged away that her voice came back to her, "This is a mistake… This is a mistake! I've done nothing wrong! Please! Let me go! I'm innocent!" She heard someone murmur behind her, "Quiet her down," before there was a sharp pain to the back of her head and she was engulfed in darkness.

When she came to, the sun was peeking its head above the horizon and she found herself surrounded by the same dark mysterious shinigami. They were on top of Sougyoku Hill. How fitting that this would be her execution cite. She felt she still had tears on her cheeks; however she couldn't wipe them away because her hands were still bound.

There was a sharp, breathtaking pain from her solar plexus and she saw the pale iridescence of her soul. Her beautiful innocent soul, still so young, being stretched out before her. A deadpan voice sounded off to her right, "Any last words Yukiei Kagami?" Yukiei saw her vision blur with hot tears and she nodded, "I want him to know… I will find him in the next life, even if I don't remember."

She felt the welled up tears spill on to her face and looked at the sun rise for one final time. Her beloved Soul Society spread before her, just opening it's sleepy eyes to the day, ignorant to the tragedies that had occurred, and closed her eyes, feeling the blow for only a millisecond before her soul was sent reeling into limbo. The most intimate piece of her shouldered now with the task of holding true to her final words. Trying to find her way back to her beloved, one way or another.

(Flashback END)

* * *

Aha! So Yoruichi couldn't save her in time, eh? I actually planned that out extensively in my head, that they would get to her before Urahara so they would have more dirt on him before convicting him. What will become of our precious Yukiei? Will she ever remember her past in the Soul Society?

R&R If you feel so inclined.

Love as always. 3


End file.
